


it's difficult standing on both feet, isn't it?

by joshriku



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Canon Compliant, Chronic Pain, Gen, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:01:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26204626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshriku/pseuds/joshriku
Summary: Noctis thinks he's good at dealing with chronic pain on his own. Luckily, his friends are too good at seeing right through him. (comm for juke!)
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia & Noctis Lucis Caelum, Lunafreya Nox Fleuret & Noctis Lucis Caelum, Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia, Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 8
Kudos: 68





	it's difficult standing on both feet, isn't it?

**Author's Note:**

> this was written as a comm for juke! very big projection moment. oh to go to get physical therapy with noctis...

Staring at the pile of unread messages from Prompto, Noctis is beginning to understand what it truly means to feel guilty.

Prompto hadn’t done anything wrong. Prompto hadn’t done  _ anything _ to begin with—sometimes Noctis’ pains overlap with his ability to reply to messages. It’s not like many people text him to begin with, so it’s mainly Prompto who he doesn’t answer much to.

It shouldn’t be hard to explain why. It’s Prompto, after all, if anyone is going to understand Noctis, it’s his best friend. Yet, all his drafted messages of ‘sorry, can’t talk, pain’ remain just like that: drafted. He knows, though, from experience that people  _ can’t  _ read Noctis’ mind. They aren’t aware that if Noctis isn’t replying for days it’s because of a bad episode—and it’s no one’s fault but Noctis’ for not communicating it.

Sighing, he decides to call Prompto, if only to not cause any misunderstandings.

“Hey, Prompto,” Noctis says into the phone, casually. “What’s up?”

_ “Heeeey, Noct! Nothing much—just, uh, what’s up with you? You’ve been missing for like, three days. Everything okay?” _

Prompto sounds slightly nervous asking it. Noctis pinches his nose before replying, “Yup. Everything’s fine. Just a lot of pain, that’s all.”

_ “Oh,”  _ Prompto replies. That's exactly why Noctis doesn’t ever tell anyone when he’s having a bad time - no one ever knows what to say. He can’t blame them and he doesn’t hold it against anyone: Noctis himself doesn’t know how to act.  _ “That sucks. Do you want me to stop by and get you something?” _

Despite everything, he smiles. Leave it to his best friend to try another approach to be helpful. “Hm… get some takeout. I ran out of food today.”

_ “Eek! Noct! You’re not just supposed to run out of food! I’ll be right there! Please leave the door unlocked…” _

Noctis laughs, short and amused. “Thank you. See you soon.”

Usually, Noctis doesn’t invite people over when he’s feeling like this—it’s uncomfortable, he can’t do much, and he’s usually cranky enough that people wouldn’t want him around. But Prompto will always be Prompto, and if there's anyone in the world Noctis would allow to see him like this, it'd be his best friend. 

Prompto swings by later, with two bags full of takeout and a promise of having the ‘world’s chillest movie night’, which implied he would be doing all the work so Noctis could rest. He doesn’t act like anything is off, which is surprising, given Noctis’ history with everyone at the citadel treating him like he was fragile and deeply ill every time he was having a bad episode. It’s comfortable and it’s exactly what he needed. 

Sitting together on the sofa, Noctis puts his feet up on Prompto’s lap. “It helps to stretch them like this,” he says like he’s sharing a secret.

Prompto nods, no doubt filing that information away for later. “Hey, Noct…”

He looks like he wants to say something important, so he turns his eyes to him. Prompto continues, “Your feet stink, dude. Do you ever shower?”

Noctis promptly throws a pillow at him. All his strength leaves him after that, but it was worth it.

* * *

Seven in the morning is  _ way  _ too early. He has one eye open, watching Gladio stretch and Ignis cook while Noctis is lying down on two camper’s chairs. Maybe they’d think he’s trying to nap more, but really, the way this technique relieved any pains was quite unrivaled. 

Gladio comes up to him before Noctis slips back into a little nap. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty, you ready for our jog?”

Noctis is  _ not  _ ready for any type of morning jogs  _ at all _ . After climbing the Ravatogh, his body has been getting back at him for the extreme amounts of movement he’d done. No amount of magic could ever help him with this, and he had no choice but to recover for the next days.

_ Except,  _ Noctis is on a roadtrip and recovering is hard when you’re always on the road.

Noctis makes a big deal out of standing up, complaining about being sleepy, perfectly hiding the uncomfortable groans. He succeeds when Gladio only laughs and calls him a sleepyhead, already walking ahead.

How was he supposed to run? Noctis’ legs feel like someone reached inside them and rearranged his bones, so every step felt wrong and out of place. Walking could certainly help to get the groove going, but it was a theory Noctis is a little unwilling to test out.

Well, here goes nothing…

He manages to walk with Gladio to the beach after lots of struggling, and to Noctis’ surprise, Gladio doesn’t immediately start running.

“We’re walking today,” Gladio says.

Noctis blinks up at him. “What?”

“Don’t think I didn’t notice you limping,” Gladio’s smile is very warm and kind. Noctis feels slightly shy now. “Let’s just take it easy, Noct.”

“Oh, um…” Noctis starts, eloquent and intelligent as always. “Thanks.”

“How long have the pains been going on?”

“… Wednesday, maybe,” he admits, quietly. “Ever since we came back from Ravatogh.”

“Told you to let me carry you back then.”

“No way! I was doing good!” And he was, really. It’s just the consequences of his actions that always hits harder than anticipated. “At least I discovered that I have a new limit.”

Gladio’s face is a little too serious. “You have to let us in more often, Noct. Can’t be King if you don’t rely on your Shield.”

“I know, I know,” Noctis replies, because he  _ does.  _ It’s just… hard. “It’s just hard to talk about it. The pains, I mean.”

Gladio nods. “Then keep this in mind: I’ll always notice when something's off. Alright? Until the day you come to me and tell me you feel bad, I’m watching over you.”

Warmth spreads across Noctis’ chest. He almost stops walking to give Gladio a hug, but he decides against it—if Gladio hugged him back, Noctis would definitely feel all of his bones shattering.

So instead he says, “Thank you. It means a lot.”

* * *

One would think Noctis eventually gets used to the long car rides. Answer: he doesn’t. Noctis fidgets a lot in the backseat, and whoever got to be his companion there ends up suffering through him moving and changing positions all the time. Usually Gladio would sit there, still as a rock, reading like nothing bothered him. Noctis was beyond jealous of him.

But now he’s figured out the best technique: sitting up  _ over  _ the seat. Ignis always tells him to sit back down and stay put, but now he’s given up on it. Sure, maybe it’s risky, and yes whenever Ignis suddenly hits the brakes Noctis stumbles forward and falls down, but it’s worth it. His back and his legs thank him profusely every time he does it.

He does it now, again, catching Ignis’ eyes when he stares at the rearview, and pretends to never have looked at him in the first place. It’s fine. Ignis doesn’t say anything, so that’s another win for him.

Fifteen minutes later, though, Ignis pulls over at a hotel. “It seems like we are running low on gas.”

“Awww, really?” Prompto asks, “I thought we just filled her with gas! Damn, cars  _ reeally  _ consume a lot of money, huh?”

“Gladio, could you please get me some ingredients from the store? I will write you a list.”

“Sure, Iggy. Guess that’ll take a while,” Gladio gets out of the car as well. “Should we rent a room? Don’t think we’ll be able to keep driving later…”

“Very well. I will start booking it. Noct, come with me.”

This whole thing is a little off… For starters, Ignis isn’t the one to make a detour before letting everyone know beforehand. He’s sure they had re-filled the Regalia before they left Lestallum, and with the amount of time they had driven, there was surely enough gas to last them for a few more hours.

Now Ignis asked him to come with him? Usually, he just lets him and Prompto do whatever. Noctis follows, waiting for Ignis to start talking.

He stands there as Ignis books the rooms, and once they’re walking to them, he finally hands him the keys. “Go rest.”

“Uh—what?”

“We have been driving for quite a while, I’d say. I noticed you changing positions in the backseat rather often—I figured you would want some rest. I paid extra for warm water in the bathroom, so I would suggest you shower before everyone else.”

“Specs,” he says, fondly, “you noticed?”

“But of course. You are not as subtle as you think you are.”

“Guess not…” It’s impossible to hide things from Ignis, anyway. Noctis has known him for so long, sometimes he thinks Ignis knows him better than himself. “Thank you… sorry, it’s just been a couple of rough days.”

“No need to mention it. I will leave you to it. Do you have any suggestions for dinner?”

“Burgers.”

Ignis sighs. “Something better than processed food, maybe?”

“… but I want burgers…”

Another sigh. Noctis can tell he’s amused. “Come on, Specs, I’m in pain. It’s comfort food.”

“Very well,” he gives in. “Enjoy your shower. I will return with burgers.”

Noctis grins. “You’re the best, Ignis.”

* * *

At ten years old, all Noctis really understood about his condition is that sometimes, pain is unbearable. Doctors explained to him many times that he’s very lucky to be alive, and that his back would heal, but it would take a lot of time for him not have a wheelchair anymore. 

It didn’t bring his mood down, nor did he grow sad and bitter about it. It was impossible—he spent his recovery time with Luna, and whenever he was with Luna, nothing seemed to hurt.

“Does anything bother you today, Noctis?” Luna asks sweetly.

It did. Sometimes Noctis’ legs would hurt, even though he hadn’t been walking much—doctors advised him to keep walking to a minimum, as to not put too much pressure his back. But today he hadn’t done _anything_ , and yet, it still hurt. Not only his legs—his entire body felt like it was falling apart.

“My body hurts,” Noctis says, about to break into tears. He holds the Cosmology book with an iron grip, trying to suppress the sobs. “I—I don’t know where. It hurts everywhere.”

“I see,” Luna doesn’t seem troubled at all. She simply helps Noctis to sit down on the bed. “I know what it is.”

“Y-you do?”

“It is raining,” she smiles, pointing at the window. It’s just like she says. But what did rain have to do with his body? “Whenever it’s about to rain, people like you tend to be more in pain. Leviathan must be pretty angry…”

“Leviathan sucks,” Noctis decides. Leviathan’s rainy days make his body hurt.

Luna laughs. “Noctis, we should not be saying that. How about I help you out a little?”

“You can?”

Her hand is shining, a white light enveloping it. She places it on his lower back, and the touch is so warm and so soothing, Noctis could fall asleep immediately.

“Is it good?” Luna asks.

“You’re an angel,” Noctis answers, feeling like he can breathe again. Luna is definitely a healing wizard. “I can’t feel any pain!”

“That’s wonderful,” she grins at him, moving her hand to his shoulders and somehow knowing exactly where it hurt. “This is all I can do for now. I can only hope it alleviates your distress… ”

“I’m good as new!” Noctis exclaims. “Seriously, Luna, you should live with me at the Citadel! Then I’d never be in pain on rainy days.”

Luna’s eyes look just a bit sad. “It sounds like an excellent idea, Noctis. However… I think I cannot follow through with that.”

“But Luna…”

“Instead, the day you leave Tenebrae, I will cast a spell to protect you on rainy days. So you may never be in too much pain. Would that be enough to make it up to you?”

Nothing could ever be like having Luna with him, but he figures, carrying her spell with him everywhere would be like having Luna always with him. So he nods eagerly.

“Yes! More than enough! Thank you!”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!  
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> 


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